Tennessee and feds strike a balance in how to track historically underserved students

Among the first states to submit its plan under the new federal education law, Tennessee is also among the first to gain approval from the U.S. Department of Education — but with one key adjustment.

Education Commissioner Candice McQueen has tweaked Tennessee’s plan to try to keep certain groups of historically underserved kids from falling through the cracks under the Every Student Succeeds Act, known as ESSA.

In April, the state proposed lumping black, Hispanic and Native American students into a single “supergroup” when considering interventions in schools where those students were struggling more than their white peers. The approach raised red flags both in Washington, D.C., and some corners of Tennessee, for fear that differences between the various groups could be overlooked.

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In July, the U.S. Education Department told Tennessee to revisit that point. It urged the state to put more teeth behind its plan to individually track those student groups, as well as Asian, Hawaiian and Pacific Islander and white students.

The plan that gained federal approval on Wednesday takes both approaches — enabling the state to intervene when any of those groups fall far behind their peers.

The change means that even schools with high test scores could be on the hook for big changes if at least 30 black, Hispanic and Native American students in that school aren’t keeping up.

And if, for example, a significant number of Native American students are performing worse than black or Hispanic students at a single school, the state will respond to that, too.

PHOTO: TN.gov

Education Commissioner Candice McQueen.

“Ultimately, all of these approaches will help to shine a spotlight on all students’ performance and drive a conversation about the needs of individual students,” McQueen told superintendents in an email announcing the state’s ESSA plan approval.

She also assured them that the change will not significantly increase the number of schools being tracked. (For monitoring to kick in, schools have to meet the 30-student threshold for any group.)

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A successor to the more restrictive No Child Left Behind law of 2001, the ESSA law of 2015 gives states latitude to come up with their own plans to improve student achievement and hold schools accountable for student performance.

Tennessee’s plan is the result of nearly two years of gathering feedback across the state. But a sticking point has been how to identify and rate schools in need of targeted support for certain groups of students.

The adjusted plan is getting good marks with groups advocating for a change.

“We are thrilled. We are celebrating that change,” said Gini Pupo-Walker, senior director of education policy for Conexión Américas and leader in the Tennessee Educational Equity Coalition.

If schools are on the hook for how they serve all students, they are more likely to make meaningful changes to improve education for them, she said.

“People will adjust resources and staffing decisions based on performance in this new accountability framework. Our whole belief with accountability is it will inspire or spur action,” said Pupo-Walker.

Tennessee is among nine states and the District of Columbia that have now gotten the green light on their ESSA plans. The remaining states are expected to submit their plans in September.

Plans for a single Indiana diploma advance with new rules that raise the bar for graduation waivers

In a move that might make it more difficult for some students to graduate, Indiana lawmakers are considering raising the threshold for allowing students to earn a diploma when they have fallen short of some state requirements.

A proposal to change the graduation waiver system is the latest attempt by the state to amend graduation requirements as part of a policy initiative to ensure that students are prepared for life after high school. The change in waiver policy could make it more challenging for students who struggle academically to complete high school.

“I want to make sure we have as few waivers as possible,” said Rep. Bob Behning, Republican chairman of the House Education Committee and author of House Bill 1426, which includes the waiver changes. And if a waiver is necessary, he said, he wants the requirements to be stringent enough to ensure post-graduate success.

An amendment to the bill proposed on Tuesday will change Indiana’s policy for allowing students to receive a waiver that, while controversial, is widely used. More than 8 percent of the more than 70,000 students who graduated last year received waivers from meeting graduation requirements.

Supporters say waivers provide opportunities to students who might face challenges that affect their ability to meet the basic graduation requirements. But critics say they allow high schools to push through students that lack the kind of skills needed to be successfully employed.

Waiver requirements for students with disabilities would not change under the new proposal.

The current system allows students who repeatedly fail required state tests in English and math to be granted a waiver that lets them graduate if they meet other criteria.

But under the new pathways system, which will affect students now in seventh grade, the state graduation exam will be replaced with one of several new graduation pathways requirements, which could include passing a college-entrance exam, taking career and technical education classes, or passing advanced courses.

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Under Behning’s proposal, a waiver would be granted if a student had earned an average GPA of 2.0; maintained 95 percent attendance; or if he or she has been admitted to college, a job training program, the military or has an opportunity to start a career.

The bill allows a school’s principal to approve alternative requirements but doesn’t address how those would be developed. The new rules could also be used by students transferring from schools that are out of state or from private schools not held to graduation pathway rules.

The current criteria to receive a waiver do not call for students to be admitted to college, the military or a job. Students do have to maintain a 95 percent attendance record and a 2.0 grade point average, and also have to complete requirements for a general diploma, take a workforce readiness assessment or earn an industry certification approved by the state board. The standards also require students to obtain letters of recommendation from teachers (with approval of the school principal) and to use class work to show students have mastered the subject despite failing the graduation exam.

It’s not yet clear how many students might be affected by a change to the graduation waiver system. In the months since the Indiana State Board of Education approved the new graduation pathways, educators have raised concerns to state board staff members about the types of students who might not have a clear-cut pathway under the plan — for example, a student headed to college who might not have an exceptional academic record. A waiver outlined by HB 1426 could give them another shot. But for students without definite post-graduation plans, that waiver could be out of reach.

None of the educators or education advocates who testified on the bill spoke out specifically on the waiver changes. Mike Brown, director of legislative affairs for the Indiana Department of Education, said that based on a “cursory look,” the department didn’t have any issues with it.

Aside from the diploma and graduation waiver changes, the bill would also:

Encourage the state board to look into alternatives for Algebra 2, currently a diploma requirement.

Ask the state board to establish guidelines for how districts and schools can create “local” graduation pathways and how they would be approved by the state board. It would also add $500,000 to fund development of local pathways that districts and schools could apply for.

Eliminate the Accuplacer exam, which schools now use to see if high school students need remediation in English or math before they graduate.

Because the bill includes a request for state funding, it next heads to the House Ways and Means Committee.

“Today is a great day for Indiana,” state Superintendent Jennifer McCormick said in a statement. “Our ESSA plan reflects the input and perspective of many stakeholders in communities across our state. From the beginning, we set out to build a plan that responded to the needs of Hoosier students. From our clear accountability system to our innovative, locally-driven approach to school improvement, our ESSA plan was designed to support student success.”

The federal government highlighted two aspects of Indiana’s plan. One is a pledge to close achievement gaps separating certain groups of students, such as racial and ethnic groups, from their peers by 50 percent by 2023.

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Another is a staple of other states’ plans, as well: adding new ways for measuring how ready students are for attending college or starting their careers. Indiana education officials and lawmakers have made this a priority over the past several years, culminating in a new set of graduation requirements the Indiana State Board of Education approved late last year.

Under Indiana’s plan, high schoolers’ readiness will be measured not just by tests but also by performance in advanced courses and earning dual credits or industry certifications. Elementary school students will be measured in part by student attendance and growth in student attendance over time. Test scores and test score improvement still play a major role in how all schools are rated using state A-F letter grades.

Academic progress of English-language learners, measured by the WIDA test.

At least one aspect of school quality. For now, that will be chronic absenteeism, but the state hopes to pursue student and teacher surveys.

The last two are new to Indiana, but represent ESSA’s goal of being more inclusive and, in the case of chronic absenteeism, attempting to value other measures that aren’t test scores.

Because the Indiana State Board of Education passed its own draft A-F rules earlier this month — rules that deviate from the state ESSA plan — it’s possible Hoosier schools could get two sets of letter grades going forward, muddying the initial intent of the simple A-F grade concept parents and community members are familiar with.

The state board’s A-F changes include other measures, such as a “well-rounded” measure for elementary schools that is calculated based on science and social studies tests and an “on-track” measure for high schools that is calculated based on credits and freshman-year grades. Neither component is part of the state’s federal plan. The state board plan also gets rid of the test score improvement measure for high-schoolers.

While that A-F proposal is preliminary, if approved it would go into effect for schools in 2018-19.

The state can still make changes to its ESSA plan, and the state board’s A-F draft is also expected to see revisions after public comment. But the fact that they conflict now could create difficulties moving forward, and it has led to tension during state board meetings. Already, the state expected schools would see two years of A-F grades in 2018. If both plans move forward as is, that could continue beyond next year.